Knockout
by AerinStrifeVII
Summary: Cloud, Tifa, and Barret get attacked by monsters during one of their travels. But the real danger doesn't come from the ambush, it comes from one of their own. CHANGED TO IN-PROGRESS DUE TO REQUESTS FOR A BETTER ENDING. WILL POST SOON!


**Knockout**

_**This takes place during FFVII, during one of the group's (namely, Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Aerith, Yuffie, Cid, and Vincent) travels.**_

Tifa was a very aggressive fighter, as was typical of any brawler who used only her fists to dish out the hurt. During battles, she would throw herself wholeheartedly into the fray and put herself in the thick of the danger. It unnerved many of her friends—in particular, the men—who insisted on protecting her.

Quite frankly, Tifa didn't need or want any protection. She could be surrounded by monsters and enemies, and still manage to defeat all her foes while emerging relatively unscathed herself.

"Guys, look out! Griffins!" Barret yelled, leaping up from his position as guard.

The group had been making their way through Cosmo Canyon when they were ambushed by the flying beasts. Cloud, Tifa and Barret were separated—sent off by Aerith, who had given them task of finding water while the rest of the group set up camp.

"There's a whole bunch of them!" Tifa exclaimed as the three companions backed up, surrounded by ten or twelve of the monsters.

"Tifa, watch our backs." Cloud commanded, brandishing the Buster Sword as he prepared for battle.

The brunette scoffed at him, not impressed with his display of heroism. "Just because I don't have a weapon doesn't mean I can't fight!"

"Yea, but those monsters'll rip ya to pieces before ya can get even get close!" Barret began firing his gun into the horde of angered griffins.

"Just stay back." And without waiting to see if Tifa complied, Cloud launched himself into the fray.

"Like Hell I will," She muttered, turning and taking on three griffins at once. She pummeled anything in her way, indiscriminately punching and kicking at the griffins. She could hear the grunts, shouts, and curses of her two male companions as they faced their own battles and occasionally glanced back to make sure they were okay. Cloud had four griffins circling him, but he didn't look too worried and Barret was holding back the other five with his gun, shooting down one of them with a particularly well-aimed blast.

Tifa didn't have too much trouble with her three and whipped around, her blood boiling for more. She threw herself at a griffin that had dived at Cloud from behind, startling the swordsman.

"Tifa!"

"Don't mind me!" She grinned at him, taking the griffin down with a ferocious kick before leaping towards the remaining four. She took on two, leaving one each for her male companions.

Tifa's senses went into overdrive—she easily dodged the griffins' attacks and let her instincts protect her. After the pair of monsters realized the girl wasn't going to go down easily, they regrouped, the larger one facing Tifa head on while the second circled around her.

Tifa closed her eyes, listening for both of the griffin's movements and planning her final attack. The smaller of the two dived in first and Tifa leapt over it, driving her heel into the back of its skull and killing it almost instantly. The larger attacked right after its dead companion and Tifa ducked, avoiding its claws smoothly and following up with a three-punch combo that knocked it out of the air and down to its demise.

"Ti-" Something strong grabbed at her shoulder.

"Hyah!" Still running on sheer adrenaline, Tifa whipped around, kicking violently and hitting Cloud Strife directly in the face.

"Tifa!" Barret shouted as Cloud fell backwards and landed with a sickening thud, his sword flying out of his hands.

"Oh, Gaia…" Tifa covered her mouth in horror. "Cloud, are you okay?!"

Apparently not; the blonde was out cold, knocked out from the brunette's misplaced high kick.

"Did you kill him?!" Barret asked, hovering over Tifa's shoulder as she knelt down.

"Oh…" Tifa shook the swordsman's gently. "I wasn't thinking, I just…" She tested for his pulse and gave a sigh of relief when she felt it thudding frantically underneath her fingers. "Good, he'll be okay…"


End file.
